This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art and to facilitate a better understanding of the various embodiments presented. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
A typical 3D image capturing device with a simple arrangement captures both a right-eye image and a left-eye image. Accordingly, such a method requires two cameras to increase the overall size and quality of the final product. To overcome the burden of using two cameras simultaneously, techniques for capturing multiple images with parallax or “multi-viewpoint image” capacity have been developed that use a single plenoptic camera. A plenoptic camera captures images by using a single lens that is disposed in front of a lenticular lens array at the imaging plane. In the plenoptic camera, the main lens aperture is imaged behind each lenticular element. The final image is generated from the multiple sub-images captured by different lenses with each lens reflecting the scene in front of it.
The image behind the lenticular array is digitized to obtain a digital plenoptic image. As a result, each sub-image is represented by a localized array of pixels that encodes the path of light rays entering the main aperture. For a large aperture, various pixels of each sub-image will be lit in the sub-image. For a small aperture, only one pixel will be lit.
In recent years, in addition to the development of the plenoptic camera, the performance and functionality of digital cameras and digital movie cameras as a whole has been independently enhanced due to improvements in technology. For example, the use of some solid-state image sensors such as a charge couple device arrays (CCD) or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor array (CMOS) have been greatly enhanced the quality and ease of using these cameras. In particular, the size of a pixel structure for use in an image sensor has been further reduced due to rapid development of semiconductor device processing technologies, thereby achieving greater resolution. The development of plenoptic cameras combined with enhancements in imaging the technology now enables a greater numbers of pixels and drivers to be integrated together in an image sensor, thereby providing amazing results. Such developments can enhance viewing pleasure and improve resolution of presented images. However, prior art is still devoid of devices and technologies that take fully advantage of these improvements in creating an immersive viewing experience and hence improve the entertainment value as a whole.